Delivery Info & FAQ

How do you deliver?

We deliver to most addresses in the U.K, using DPD courier, in insulated boxes. You will receive the items frozen, ready for your freezer.

What are the delivery costs?

Delivery is free to mainland UK for orders over £59. There will be a delivery cost of £5.95 for orders under £59, to cover the cost of insulated packaging and next day courier delivery costs.

How long do you take to deliver?

We deliver within 1-2 working days. We usually deliver between Tuesday – Saturday each week, excluding bank holidays. You will be able to see all available delivery dates at checkout and choose your convenient day.

How do I choose my delivery date?

You can choose your delivery date at checkout page. You will see a calendar with available delivery days and pick one that’s convenient.

Can I change my order after I place it?

You can change the delivery date, items, address or any details in your order even after you place it. As long as it is before 10 am on the day of dispatch, we can assist you.

Where do you deliver?

We deliver to most addresses in mainland UK using DPD’s next day delivery service.

What areas in UK can you not deliver?

We are unable to deliver to the following areas (due to couriers not guaranteeing timely delivery): Northern Ireland, The Highlands and all UK Islands. We are unable to deliver to the following postcodes: AB, BT, HS, IV, KA27-28, KW, PA20-49, PA60-78, PH16-26, PH30-44, PH49-50, ZE.

What if I am not in?

No problem. You can mention delivery choices (leave with my neighbour etc.,) when you order. Alternately when our couriers contact you with delivery time, they will give you alternate options. Our packaging will keep the food frozen until late evening, so you can collect when you are back. Since it’s frozen food, please endeavour to get it in your freezer as soon as you can.

Will I get the items frozen?

Yes. Our insulated delivery boxes act like mini-freezers, and they are tested to keep food frozen for up to 30 hours. Our meals are wrapped in special insulated liners and packed with dry ice to keep them in safe temperatures during transit.

Can I freeze the meals?

Yes. Our meals will be delivered to you in frozen state, ready for you to pop-in the freezer and enjoy when you want.

How long will they last in my freezer?

Each meal will have a best before date printed on the pack. All our meals will have at least 6 months before the best before date.

Is the packaging material food safe/recyclable?

All our packaging materials are certified food safe and comply with all the regulations. All packaging materials we use are recyclable.

How do I recycle your packaging?

Cardboard box, sleeve, meal tray: Recycle as paper.
Film on the tray, dry ice cover: Recycle as plastic.
Insulation liners: We use 2 different types of liners depending on the parcel and outside temperature.
- Denim liners: Recycle the cover as plastic and the denim material as cotton.
- Bubble Liners: Recycle as soft plastic.

What if there is a problem with my delivery?

Our couriers DPD deliver 99% of the parcels satisfactorily. On rare occasions where there is a delivery issue, please contact us as soon as possible. We will liaise with the courier and put things right. We always make sure you get your meals.

What is your frozen delivery promise?

We promise that your meals will arrive frozen, in safe temperature. If there are any issues due to courier damage/delay, we will send replacements.

ORDER ONLINE, BY EMAIL OR PHONE

How do I order?

Please order online on this website if you can. You can also order by email by emailing vip@chefakila.com or calling us on 01535 666596.

Can I gift your food to someone?

Yes indeed. If you know people who are curry lovers, have parents or children who would love better Indian meals, you can order on their behalf. Or you can order our convenient eGift Vouchers that can be delivered instantly or at a date of your choice.

How do I order to a different address/person?

You can get your order delivered to a different address - to your family/friends/holiday cottage etc. When you place the order, you can enter a different shipping address where the delivery will go to. You can also schedule your delivery weeks in advance.

OUR HEALTHIER & NATURAL MEALS

Why Frozen Curries are better?

Freezing is a natural and safe way of preserving food. If done properly using special equipment like we do, it locks-in all the nutrition, flavour and taste. It reduces risk and helps us deliver you the food to taste in its peak condition.

Freezing also increases resistant starch and reduces the glycaemic index of carbohydrates like rice and vegetables, making the meals healthier.

How do you freeze food?

We freshly cook quickly freeze within minutes of cooking. We use special blast freezers to freeze quickly at the right time. When you heat-up our food, it’ll look, smell and taste as if it was freshly just made at home.

Isn’t “fresh” food better?

Only if YOU source the finest ingredients, spend a lot of time to cook at home without short-cuts and eat straightaway. We believe that the longer Indian food is stored in ambient/chilled state, the more it loses taste and nutrition.

Most commercially available “fresh” food, particularly Indian food isn’t as fresh as they say. Supermarkets use cheap ingredients and factory-make food and do things to food to increase shelf-life. Takeaways and restaurants have to use lot of shortcuts and cut corners to serve many customers in a short time. Greasy, artificially coloured/flavoured food with cheap ingredients isn’t natural or healthy, even if it’s served hot as “fresh” food.

Where/How is your food made?

We hand-cook each item from scratch, in small batches in our Yorkshire kitchen. We don’t use any base gravies, ready-made sauces or chemicals. Chef Akila, Chef Selva and a small team lovingly cook and taste each item before packing on-site and blast freezing within minutes.

Do you use any additives/colours/preservatives?

No. We don’t use any artificial colours, flavour enhancers, preservatives, ready-made sauces, base gravies or MSG. We cook using traditional methods and family recipes.

Is your food safe?

Our kitchen has a 5-star food hygiene rating and we comply with all food safety requirements in the U.K. Our HACCP/NCASS standards are monitored and inspected. All our staff are adequately trained in food safety and hygiene. All packaging materials we use are certified food safe to industry standards.

What portion sizes do you do?

Our curries, biryanis, rice items, sides and dals are available in packs to serve 2, or in combo packs with a curry or sauce with rice or biryani to serve 1 person. We also have curry sauces to serve 4 and party packs to serve 8-10.

I am a single person. Do you do meals for one?

Yes, we do combo meals for one person. Even our meals for 2 are widely enjoyed by single people as they are great value.

Can I split the meals for two into 2 single portions?

If you want to make more than one meal out of a 2-serving pack, here are some options:

Defrost in the fridge and heat-up smaller portions over 2-3 days. This is a preferred option as it avoids heating the meal twice.
Split the frozen/slightly defrosted meal into 2. Use one half and keep the other half frozen and dated in the freezer for another meal.
Heat the whole meal and keep any leftovers in the fridge to heat-up later. Just make sure you use it within 1-2 days.

Can I store leftovers in the fridge?

You can store any leftovers in the fridge safely for 1-2 days and heat-up again. We do not recommend refreezing the meals once thawed.

Do your curries come with rice?

Our combo meals for one person have curry and rice in the same pack. Our meals for 2 and party packs are individual items.

Allergies & Special Diets

I’m allergic to something. Where can I find allergen information?

You can find allergen information on each pack and on each item on our website. There is also a handy, downloadable menu allergen chart here.

Are your meals gluten-free?

All our meals are gluten-free, suitable for Coeliacs. We are a gluten-free kitchen, so there is less risk of cross-contamination.

Where can I find meals for various diets?

Gluten-Free (All items)
Dairy-Free
Low-Carb/Keto Indian Meals
Vegetarian
Vegan
Nut-Free (Our kitchen handles nuts. So we cannot guarantee any of our meals to be totally nut-free.)

Where can I find nutritional information like calories, salt, fat, etc.?

Nutritional information for each item is displayed on each product page. This information is also printed on each meal pack.

Are the calorie/nutritional values accurate?

We meticulously analyse calorific and nutritional values of each of our items using industry/legal standards and verify using accredited labs. However, please be aware that the values are typical. We hand-cook each batch, and there is a possibility of small variation in values.

Our High-Quality, Natural Ingredients

Where do you source your chicken/meat?

We only use traceable and high welfare chicken and meat from reputable Yorkshire farms. Provenance and quality are very important for us, and we never use imported meat.

Is your meat Halal?

Yes, all our chicken and meat are certified halal. We only buy from butchers who make sure animals/birds are stunned before slaughter. They do not suffer any more compared to non-halal meat.

Which oils do you use?

We use one of the following oils/fats, in small amounts:

Organic, virgin coconut oil
Pure British butter
Cold-pressed sesame oil
Cold-pressed peanut oil

Do you use any toxic seed oils?

We DO NOT use the following industrial, refined oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Commercial “vegetable” oil, soy, safflower, cotton seed, or rice bran oils.

Do you use reheated oils?

We DO NOT use our oils more than once as we believe it is harmful to health.

Do you add any additives, artificial colours, or preservatives?

No. We don’t need to add any preservatives due to how we freeze food, we don’t need to add flavourings as our food is naturally flavoursome. We don’t add artificial colours or sweeteners as we think they are harmful.

Our “Pure” Vegan/Vegetarian Food

How is your Vegan/Vegetarian food made?

We cook and pack our Vegetarian and Vegan food on separate cooking days, using different utensils and equipment. We store our veggie ingredients separately from non-veg items. We have separate fridges and freezers for animal and plant products and clean everything meticulously before and after cooking non-vegan items.

Why do you have so many meat-free options?

Many Indian recipes are naturally plant-based and are ideal for our “as healthy and clean as possible” ethos. Whether you are a vegan/vegetarian or just want meat-free meals, we have a large range of veggie items.

Do you use any lab-grown/fake meat?

No! All our vegetarian and vegan items have natural items, and we do not use any fake meat or meat substitutes.

Cooking/Heating Our Meals

How do I heat your food? Do I need a microwave/oven?

All our meals are fully cooked, and you can heat them from frozen. Instructions for each item are on our website and will be labelled on individual packs. All our meals can be heated in the oven. All items except our party packs and starters can be heated in the microwave. Curry and Dal items can also be heated on hobs. Our party packs, due to size, need to be cooked in the oven or on the hob.

Can I heat in the air-fryer?

Yes, you can. Apart from the starters, we have not tested timings for other items in air fryers. But you can use oven timings and reduce the time by about 30%, depending on the power of your air fryer.

Where can I find heating instructions?

Heating instructions for each item can be found on the product pages of our website and on each meal pack.

Do I have to defrost the meals before heating?

No, you can heat from frozen. If you prefer to defrost, you can, but reduce the heating time accordingly.

Can I heat from frozen?

Yes, you can heat all our meals from frozen. Instructions and timings will be on each pack.

Our e-Gift Vouchers

How do I buy your e-gift vouchers?

You can order our e-gift vouchers online on this page.

Can I print and give the voucher to the recipient?

Yes, you can add yourself as the recipient, print off the voucher, and send/give it to the recipient.

Can I schedule the vouchers to be delivered on a certain day?

Yes, you can choose when the voucher will be emailed to the recipient. On their birthday, Christmas, etc.

Oven-Ready Party Packs

What are your Party Packs?

Our Party Packs are larger portions of our most popular items, that serve at least 8-10 people. They typically contain about 2 to 2.2 kg of an item in the same oven-ready container.

How do I heat the Party Packs?

You can heat in the oven in the same container. Our curries and dals can also be defrosted and heated in a pot. Instructions will be on each pack. Our Chefs can also assist with any questions you have.

Customising Our Food

I like my food hotter/milder. Can I customise to my taste?

You can choose items varying from mild to hot. We tend to add less spice/chillies and much less oil/fat, so everyone can enjoy our healthy food. We know tastes vary, so we always recommend checking seasoning and salt before serving. You can add your own personal touch with garnishing, etc. You can contact us if you have any queries or need advice from our chefs.

Can you modify a recipe/make it specially for me?

Sorry, we can’t. Our meals are made in small batches, nutrition analysed, lab tested, and nutritional values printed on the labels/sleeves. Therefore, we are unable to take special orders to make our items with or without certain ingredients.

Contacting Us

If you have any further questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to us:

Our contact form is here
Email: vip@chefakila.com
Call Us: 01535 666596